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Buying a NYC co-op or condo apartment is one of the biggest investments you'll every make. This purchase is more than just buying a home, it's investing in a housing corporation. Articles, here, will help you understand what your investment really means, and how to make a safe one.
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Homes in the UES Are Worth More Than All of The Bronx
July 06, 2015
You already know co-op and condo prices hit record highs in the second quarter, but if you're wondering which is Manhattan's priciest borough, then wonder no longer. It's the Upper East Side. Okay, so that's no real surprise. When hasn't it been an expensive area? But DNAinfo reports that it's worth more than all of The Bronx. All of it. The whole thing. It's worth more than all of Staten Island, too. According to the article, "the neighborhood's residential property values — totaling about $96 billion — not only beat every other neighborhood in the city and the two outer boroughs in home prices, it's worth more than North and South Dakota, New Hampshire, Vermont, Wyoming and Alaska, according to real estate data enthusiast and entrepreneur Max Galka, who runs a real estate data business called Revaluate." Well, way to go luxury high-rises. Galka based his calculations on sale prices from 2014, property value estimates from the Lincoln Institute and information from the latest U.S. census, according to DNAinfo.
A READER ASKS: I recently moved into my very first co-op apartment. Things were going pretty well, until the people in the unit before me said they had a leak in their bathroom. Ever since, the board has needed to gain access to my apartment to check that I'm not spilling water, that my toilet is running properly, that my bathtub is caulked and my faucets are all okay. I understand it's vital to fix a leak, but I'm not very comfortable with strangers being in my apartment when I'm not home. Am I being unreasonable if I ask for some advanced notice so I can make arrangements?
If an app can let you find your soulmate, then why shouldn't it help you find your dream home? That's the question Staten Island Tech grad Michael Lisovestky, 22; Jason Marman, 18; and Dean Soukeras, 43 asked themselves when they came up with the idea for HomeSwipe. Like dating app Tinder, HomeSwipe lets users swipe left to skip a listing and swipe right to add to favorites. The trio discussed how the app works with DNAinfo late last week: "The homes are posted by city realtors. But developers use an algorithm and vet agents to cut down on bogus listings. Soukeras, a former broker, meets with agencies before allowing them to use the feature to find clients." Soukeras told DNAinfo that "about 50 brokerages and 400 agents use the app to show off their listings. They are highlighting about 20,000 listings." There are listings for every borough in the city, and recently expanded to Chicago. Not bad considering that last October they were just raising capital to get the project off the ground. "Since it launched, the app has gotten more than 62,000 total downloads," reports DNAinfo. But the trio are not done improving an already pretty ingenious tool. Right now, when you swipe right to favorite a listing, it's up to you to contact the realtor to view the apartment, "but the developers are working on a way to communicate directly inside the app. The developers are also working on a way for the app to learn user preferences based on the apartments you skip or favorite so that they can tailor listings better." Nice. HomeSwipe is available for iOS and Android.
It looks summer has been good for New York City real estate. According to the New York Daily News, Manhattan enjoyed a record second quarter. "The average sales price for an apartment was the highest ever recorded since tracking began in 1989," reports the Daily News, citing a new report by brokerage Douglas Elliman. An apartment in the city averaged $1.8 million, up 11.4 percent from the same period last year and 8% from this year's first quarter. Condo prices hit a record high, soaring 20 percent thanks, in part, to stalled inventory growth and a rise in the number of new luxury towers hitting the market in places like — surprise, surprise — Billionaires' Row. Co-op prices increased 5.8 percent, but despite not posting double digits as condos did, they also hit a record high.
How soon is too soon? That's the question on the minds of two neighbors in a building who are interesting in purchasing an apartment and splitting it, so each can add on to their current individual units. The problem? The available apartment belonged to another neighbor in the building who recently died. The duo asks Brickunderground for advice on how to appropriately handle the situation, especially since the deceased neighbor's children are handling the estate. Brickunderground experts weigh in on the delicate situation: "While you're right to think you should tread lightly here, if you approach the situation the proper way, there's no reason you and your neighbor can't put in a polite offer for the apartment in question." A little sensitivity and tact go a long way, they all agree, but one of the experts, CORE NYC broker Douglas Heddings, adds that if the neighbors rather not bother (or offend) the grieving family, they should consider instead calling or sending a letter to the attorney for the estate instead. Heddings also notes that "the doorman or super may be able to help [the pair figure out] who to contact."
Buying an apartment in New York City is a complex affair. In this week's Ask Real Estate column in The New York Times, a reader asks Ronda Kaysen whether it would make sense to take a home inspector along on a final walk-through before closing on a one-bedroom apartment in a new condo development. Having an apartment inspected before you sign on the dotted line is always a good idea, explains Kaysen, adding that "even new construction can have windows that leak, faulty ventilation systems or poor water pressure." But say the inspector finds something wrong: "if an inspector finds that, say, the windows do not close properly, you would need to negotiate any repairs with the seller, and the seller would need time to fix the problem," she says. Kaysen advises having an inspector check out an apartment when you initially sign the contract, not right before closing. That way, if there's a problem, there's plenty of time to resolve it. So what's the point of a final walk-through then? "Use it to confirm the obvious," says Kaysen. "Do the doors have knobs and do the outlets have covers? Are the kitchen appliances installed and can they be turned on? Is there running water?" And take your broker with you!
Opponents of Controversial UWS Development Cry Foul Over Last-Minute Construction Approval
June 29, 2015
Another day, another luxury development in the works causing locals a lot of grief: that's the world of New York City real estate. Late last week, opponents of a controversial Upper West Side project cried foul after the Department of Buildings (DOB) issued the developer last-minute permits to carry on construction, according to DNAinfo. The project in question is a 10-story addition on top of a six-story apartment building located at 711 West End Avenue. Tenants are concerned about dust, noise, and construction traffic, as are parents of children attending the nearby elementary school. They want "more transparency and better safety measures," to be put in place. They are also upset because the DOB granted the permits "just a day before a sweeping landmarking of the avenue that would have derailed the project. Additions to landmarked buildings have to get approval by the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) and are not permitted 'as of right.'" One parent added: "The developers knew the [LPC] vote was coming so they slammed through a bunch of permits to avoid being accountable." In response, a DOB spokesperson said that "the department does not determine when a permit review happens, and that reviews are scheduled by the applicant during times when a DOB examiner is available," adding that "according to the New York City Construction Code, a project's future landmark status cannot be factored in." It looks like the project's opponents aren't giving up. They are calling on Mayor Bill de Blasio to intervene. DNAinfo reported that the mayor's office didn't immediately return a request for comment. Tenants officially submitted a challenge to the developer's plan citing safety concerns, but a DOB examiner had already approved the safety plan. Opponents still have until August 2 to submit other challenges to the project, but that may prove impossible since some of the developer's plans are not available to the public. The group reportedly intends to keep the pressure on the mayor to do something.
Photo by Christopher Bride for Property Shark
Despite all the news about luxury condos rising all over the city, there hasn't been much activity on the Upper West Side's park boulevard… until now. Starting next week, reports the New York Daily News, "13 renovated units will go on sale at the landmark building at 360 Central Park West — some of only a few new condo units to hit the market [in that vicinity] in decades. The pre-war, park-facing building designed by 20th-century architect Rosario Candela, overlooks the reservoir. Built in 1928, the 17-story Neo-Renaissance-style property "remained a rental building until the owner convinced the landowner to sell the underlying property to him in 2011." The developer then brought "architecture giant CetraRuddy [on board] to reimagine the apartments for a modern homebuyer, with coffered ceilings, herringbone floors, premium-grade appliances and custom-built white oak fixtures." Some of the units in the landmarked building were combined to make it worthwhile for wealthy Upper West Side families. Indeed, all of the luxury — and the ticket price to match — with none of the impossibly tall glass and steel that seems to be robbing New York of its charm. So how much does a luxury pad in an old New York building set you back? How's about $1.5 million for a one-bedroom pad to more than $6 million for a four-bedroom home? Sure, it's hardly chump change, but "still significantly less than the jaw-dropping asking prices at famed Central Park West buildings such as the Dakota and the Beresford, which typically trade for about 50 percent more on a price-per-square-foot basis."
Photo credit: StreetEasy
Navigating the world of New York City real estate can be overwhelming and draining. That's why those who can afford to do so often seek the help and guidance of a broker. Broker fees can be quite high, so it's not surprising that, sometimes, the higher the fee, the higher an apartment hunter's expectations. High expectations, however, can result in disappointment. Such is the case with one woman whose daughter just rented an apartment in Manhattan. "To my dismay," she writes in this week's Ask An Expert column on Brickunderground, "I discovered on move-in day that there was a chemical dependency residential treatment program right across the street. The broker didn't say anything about this but took an almost $6,000 fee. Do I have any recourse?" Six thousand bucks may be a lot of dough, but Brickunderground experts still answered: no. "Your broker was under no obligation whatsoever to tell you about a nearby rehab center," they agree. Warburg broker Shirley Hackel adds: "Caveat emptor: Let the buyer beware. The agent is not obligated to point out that a residential treatment program is on the block. It's entirely possible that the agent was totally unfazed by it." In fact, the only way this dismayed mom might have some recourse is if either she or her daughter "specifically asked about the presence of a nearby rehab center and the broker lied," says Jeffrey S. Reich, a real estate attorney with Schwartz, Sladkus, Reich, Greenberg, Atlas. This case is certainly a reminder that when looking for a home in the big city, you shouldn't just be looking at the apartment. You should be looking at the building's immediate surroundings as well. Hopping on the ole Google machine doesn't hurt, either.
The landmarked clock that sits atop the historic 14-story building at 346 Broadway is more than 100 years old. When developers Peebles Corporation and El Ad Group bought the building from the city in May 2014, many worried about the clock's fate. As 2014 came to a close, the Landmark Preservation Commission gave developers the green light to convert the building into upscale condos. Developers said at the time that they intended to keep the clock functioning. But it didn't change the fact that the clock would be closed off to the public and become part of a new luxury penthouse for one super-rich, super-lucky buyer. And then there were the developers' plans to electrify the beloved landmarked clock. For decades, it has been hand-wound by two retired city employees, Marvin Schneider, 75, and Forest Markowitz, 63. At the time, the Historic Districts Council and the Society for the Architecture of the City were reportedly considering legal action. But no suit came about… until six months later, that is. The New York Daily News reports that a group of preservationists and clock enthusiasts has filed suit to stop the developers from taking the public landmark and completely fencing it off from public view. The group has also criticized the developers' plans to dismantle the clock's historic non-electric mechanism: "The move to electrify the mechanism would completely destroy the landmark character of the clock and kill off one of the few remaining such purely mechanical public timepieces in the country." That's a pretty solid point. Preservationists are especially concerned about "the privatization of public assets," adding that it sets "a dangerous precedent for future landmarking disputes."
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